Rock Creek Park
NW Washington, DC
My father told me at an early age that having good game would get me anywhere. My father was my hero. There was nothing that my daddy didn’t have; cars, money, women, and the world could be his for the right price. My father was the king of his streets. He was all my brother, Neko, and I knew.
My mother, Christa Reynolds, was just one of the endless one-night affairs my father had to pass the time away. He never trusted women enough to keep them around longer than a month or two. He used them and threw them away like tissue. He tried to dispose of my mother but she wasn’t having it! She held on, even though Darnell wanted no parts of her except for what she had between her legs. He used her so good she would do anything to keep him around, which didn’t exclude tricking and an endless list of other whorish acts. She had heard all kinds of stories about Darnell’s infidelities and sexual escapades. There was even talk about him fucking with Momma’s baby sister; but that didn’t stop my mother’s money-hungry ass. When she found out she was pregnant with me she just knew she had hit pay dirt. My father had other plans for her.
Christa was a beautiful woman. She was what you would call exotic. She stood a proud 5'8”; an olive-toned beauty with long thick legs and an ass to make a nigga cry. She had also been born with alluring grey eyes. She had a sharp short hair cut and would rock the finest shit she could boost from the stores. Darnell knew she was a gold diggin’ bitch. Daddy really could not stand her; but the bitch was bad, and she had some killer pussy.
Darnell wasn’t bad him damn self. He cleared an even six feet and was the color of ebony. He had the most beautiful smile and would make the panties of women drop with one look. He rarely smiled though, because his jaw was clinched and he always looked as if he were in deep thought. He was always on the grind, and money was his first and only love; next to me of course.
When Christa told him she was pregnant he thought he would strangle her on the spot. He came close to drugging her junkie ass and getting rid of the evidence, but he thought of his baby. He thought of the small piece of him that he could share his world with. He didn’t care if it was a girl or boy; as long as his heir was healthy, he wasn’t concerned about the sex of the child.
“So, what are you going to do about this Dee?” Christa asked in a confident tone while tapping her foot against the floor. She figured if she came at him hardcore, he would have no choice but to accept her.
“What do you mean what am I going to do about it? Christa, you know what it is. I’ll take care of my business, which is my child.” He walked out of the room emotionless, with nothing more to say.
Just like that, Christa Reynolds knew she wouldn’t have to boost anymore, or fuck any of those disgusting hustlers to keep up with the lifestyle she was accustomed too. She immediately went to her rundown project home in SE, DC and packed her belongings; telling her mother she wasn’t ever coming back. Well, at least not if she could help it.
Darnell treated her like gold until June 4, 1986; that’s the day I was born. From that day on, my father pretended my mother didn’t exist. Christa hoped that Darnell would warm up to her after the birth of their little girl YaSheema. Instead YaYa, as Darnell liked to call her, was his pride and joy. She was the one who he adorned in the latest fashions. She was the one who was shown off to everyone, and Christa was left alone to do whatever she pleased as long as it didn’t mean bothering Darnell.
Christa was determined to make him hers though. She tried to make him want her. She even resorted to fucking his best friend to make Darnell notice she was even alive. He hadn’t touched her in God only knew how long, and if he had his way, he never would again. He knew of her deceit and betrayal. He knew Christa was a straight rolla’ and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
After years of being ignored, Christa started to hate the fact that she had a child. She knew that YaYa was not the real source behind why she felt the way she felt on the inside. She realized that the child was just being used as a pawn to get her out of the way gracefully. Christa didn’t know what to think of YaYa since the majority of her time was spent chasing after Darnell, and the other part was spent getting high. Christa barely even knew she had a child to care for. She would take the money Darnell gave her and stash it away to get herself a fix. Life as an addict was all Christa gave a fuck about.
For years, that was the way things went in my home. I never really noticed the beef between my parents because my father always took the time to spoil me rotten. He made sure I didn’t have to want for anything and that included wanting my mother to act as such. The storm was sure to come. It was only a matter of time before my mother’s borrowed lifestyle would come to a screeching halt like “new shoes” on an Escalade truck.